Despite making five straight bowl games, Ohio will feature some new faces on offense this season.
The Bobcats lost some of their offensive weapons, includ ing quarterback Tyler Tettleton and running back Beau Blan kenship, along with a majority of their offensive line. The 2014 Ohio team will feature a new brand of Bobcats football, led by fresh faces.
The offense will be the most changed part of the team, in cluding the starting quarter back position, which has yet to be decided upon; the two lead ing candidates being redshirt junior Derrius Vick and redshirt sophomore J.D. Sprague.
Coach Frank Solich said both have shown to be a threat with their legs and arm, but un less he finds a definite front-runner in com petition, he will plan to play the “hot hand.”
“I’m the kind of guy that likes a clear-cut No. 1 com ing in, but it’s got to take shape. Someone has got to earn it, and he’s really gotta separate him self,” he said. “If that happens, then there will be a clear-cut No. 1. If that doesn’t happen, I think we can win with more than one guy at the quar terback posi tion.”
When asked if either quarterback had an edge following the spring sched ule, quarter backs coach Scott Isphord ing said that the two would enter summer camp “tied at No. 1.”
After scoring an average of more than 33 points in its first eight games in 2013 — six of which were Ohio wins — the of fense mustered a combined 16 points in three ensuing losses.
Scoring points, as well as not expecting the defense to make up for lack of scoring, has become the main focus of the squad.
“As an offensive unit we are getting closer and closer as the days go by,” redshirt sophomore wide receiver Justin Wyatt said. “We all know that we can’t de pend on the defense to back us out of the hole and that we should become a high-powered offense and score a lot of points each week. To me, we can’t have what happened last year.”
The Bobcats played East Carolina in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl in December, but were de feated 37-20 in St. Petersburg, Florida.
This upcoming season is a question mark that largely hinges on offensive production. Solich said that he is confident in two-thirds of his team — de fense and special teams — while the other third, the offense, has yet to prove itself.
“We’re going to be a work in progress — there’s a lot of things that we have to get bet ter at from the offensive side,” Solich said. “I think we can be a very strong, talented defensive unit. … We’ve really got some depth across the board on the defensive side of the football with talented guys. It should be the strong point of our football team next year.”
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